Digital Commons Network^™

Wilderness And Epistemic Wildness, John T. Stanfield

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The traditional concept of wilderness was a product of the time out of which it came. Times have changed. The social context of conservation, how humans affect nature, and scientific understanding of how ecosystems function have all shifted in ways that make the wilderness idea problematic. The values that people found in wilderness are still relevant, however. It is the way that they are tied together in the concept of wilderness that has become a problem.

I propose a revised concept of wilderness that meets the concerns of critics of wilderness, and accounts for the tension between the wild and …

Sacred Zones: Examing Wilderness In Yellowstone, Maine And Russia, Lily S. Vonderheide

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis seeks to examine issues of resource conservation and recreational access in three regions of immense historical and ecological significance: Yellowstone National Park, the North Woods of Maine, and the protected nature reserve system of Siberia. By applying a combination of direct professional experience, current research and ongoing environmental policy action, the thesis attempts to provide an accurate picture of current and future challenges facing the three regions. Part I, “Yellowstone Paradox,” traces the roots of Yellowstone’s restrictions on recreational boating access in a post-WWII discourse of consumer recreation, the development of a sustainability ethic and its deployment as …

Impact Of A Flame Resistant Synthetic Material Base Layer On Heat Stress Factors, Matthew C. Dorton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Protective clothing worn by wildland firefighters (WLFF) may increase physiological strain and heat stress factors due to increased insulation and decreased ventilation. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of a flame resistant synthetic material base layer on heat stress factors. METHODS: Ten recreationally active males (25 ± 6.1 yrs, 80.9 ± 8.4 kg, 11.1 ± 5.3% fat, 4.4 ± 0.6 L·min-1 VO2 max) completed two trials of intermittent (50 min walking, 10 min sitting) treadmill walking (4km/hr, 4% grade) over 3 hours in a hot, dry environment (35⁰C, 30% rh). Participants wore standard WLFF Nomex green pants, Nomex yellow shirt with …

We Are Against Socialized Medicine, But What Are We For?: Federal Health Reinsurance, National Health Policy, And The Eisenhower Presidency, Jordan M. Graham

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This project investigates the foundations of post-war health care in the United States by examining the first major proposal for federal involvement in health insurance, after the defeat of national health insurance in 1949. In doing so, this project aims to also illustrate Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency as one of limited liberal, or “Tory,” reform. The majority of primary sources were located at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas. Secondary sources were chosen based on the frequency with which contemporary scholarship continues to rely upon and engage with them.

In the first two chapters, the thesis examines the …

The Last Wolves Of Isle Royale, Kasey Rahn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Isle Royale National Park, located in Michigan, is home to a wolf population that is in decline due to complications from inbreeding. Scientists and managers struggle to decide whether to intervene. Some scientists promote bringing new wolves to the island to restore the population because they say the decline is human-caused. Others promote “watchful waiting.” To date, the National Park Service has not interceded and is currently undergoing a management planning process. The issue raises questions about what it means to manage wildlife in an era of change. Should humans intervene to protect wildlife in the face of climate change …

Development Of An Automated Method For Identification Of Wet And Dry Channel Segments Using Lidar Data And Fuzzy Logic Cluster Analysis, Chris Rowney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research into the use of LiDAR data for purposes other than simple topographic elevation determination, such as urban land cover classification and the identification of forest biomass, has become prominent in recent years. In many cases, alternative analysis methodologies conducted using airborne LiDAR data are possible because the raw data collected during a survey can include information other than the classically used elevation and coordinate points, the X, Y, and Z of the plane. In particular, intensity return values for each point in a LiDAR grid have been found to provide a useful data set for wet and dry channel …

Hypothyroidism And The Development Of Hypertension, Kaleb Short

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Low thyroid hormone (TH) in adulthood is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including risk of hypertension. The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR), exhibits alterations in thyroid function when compared to normotensive controls. Interestingly, inhibiting thyroid gland function before 4 weeks of age prevented hypertension in the SHR, indicating that TH is involved in the etiology of SHR hypertension. However, these studies utilized tail-cuff photoplethysmography (PPG), which is known to have stress-induced artifacts, and did not compare effects in the normotensive parent strain Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat. Therefore, it is uncertain whether TH is responsible for an elevation in baseline …

Literacy Strategies Successfully Implemented By Secondary Social Studies Teachers, Kelly Killorn

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine which literacy strategies were used by secondary social studies teachers who were identified by their principals as having strong literacy integration skills. In addition, teachers' beliefs and purposes for utilizing said literacy strategies were examined. It was hypothesized that participants would incorporate literacy strategies into their instruction, and would utilize explicit vocabulary instructional methods and graphic organizers most frequently. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from five participants through three 50-minute behavioral observations apiece, followed by a 45-minute focus group discussion. Results indicated that these participants overwhelmingly utilized literacy strategies regularly …

Feminist Identities: Career Choices And Experiences Of College-Educated Women, Kerry Diekmann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explored how feminism as a social identity impacts how women interpret their career and life experiences. The overarching research question that guided the study was: How do feminist-identified women make sense of their feminist identity, life experiences, and career path? The theoretical framework that provided the lens for the study included feminist, multicultural, intersectionality, and career development theories. Two distinct bodies of literature were reviewed to provide a foundation for the study: (a) women's career development, in particular, the supports and barriers experienced, and (b) feminist identity, including influences to adopting the feminist label and factors associated …

The Fertility Problem Inventory And Infertility-Related Stress: A Case Study, Staci Leigh Born

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

More than seven million people of childbearing age in the United States experience infertility. For women, the experience of infertility is stressful. The Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) has been used to quantitatively measure women's experience of infertility-related stress. However, the construct of infertility-related stress is poorly described in existing literature. The purpose of this case study was understand how women experience the FPI as a measure of infertility-related stress. To address this issue, women who are undergoing infertility treatment completed the FPI and participated in unstructured interviews. Archival documents were also retrieved to corroborate findings and satisfy saturation. Results indicate …

Botswana And Mauritius: A Comparative Analysis Of An Economic And Political Success Story In The Most Unlikely Region, Richard Armah

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The African continent is the last place to consider seeking case studies for political and economic success. In the midst of this gloomy picture, Botswana and Mauritius have emerged as two of the most stable democracies with the most politically and economically advanced economies in the world. In conducting a careful and critical analysis of the reasons for their success, there is often the temptation of labeling the achievements of these two nations as political and economic "miracles". This study seeks not to single out these two countries as unique cases, but as models of growth for the rest of …

Representing Us All? Race, Gender, And Sexuality In Orange Is The New Black, Michael Robert Chavez

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Orange Is the New Black is a Netflix television series that began in 2013. The series focuses on the lives of inmates in a fictional women's prison. Television series about prison have focused primarily on men in prison. This thesis will expand upon previous research on representation of minorities in television using a feminist media analysis to examine the first season of the series. I will explore how race, gender, and sexuality are represented within the series. I examine the representations of four characters during the first season. I chose these four characters because they represented different racial groups, sexualities, …

She Got Her Period: Men's Knowledge And Perspectives On Menstruation, Ishwari Rajak

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research show that men and women often do not converse freely about menstruation. Shame, taboos and myths associated with menstruation silence the conversation. Silencing conversations about menstruation have negative consequences on women, including: objectification of women's bodies, stereotyping of women as physically, morally and emotionally inferior to men and to extreme cases women losing their uterus due to unhygienic means of menstrual management. On the one hand, not addressing menstruation openly has devastating consequences on women but on the other hand, most men seem oblivious about the impacts on women. Therefore, it is important to engage in open dialogues about …

Gis Analysis Of Brownfield Sites In The City Of Minneapolis, Shreya Vaidya

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Brownfield sites have many negative ramifications on a local area which includes loss of economy, decline in land use value and potential hazard to human health and the environment. Despite the efforts on redeveloping brownfields, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) claims that over 10,000 known contaminated or potentially contaminated sites remain across Minnesota and thousands are likely to exist but have not been identified and recorded. The objectives of this study are to map the brownfield sites in Minneapolis based on the information provided by the regulatory sources and to categorize and analyze all the sites on the basis of …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Clinical Intuition Among Alcohol And Drug Counselors, Zach Hansen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study investigates the experience of clinical intuition among alcohol and drug counselors. Clinical intuition has been acknowledged as an integral component to counseling by numerous influential theorists, and has recently been researched in the context of clinical psychology, and marriage and family counseling. However, little or no research has been conducted on clinical intuition among alcohol and drug counselors. In order to thoroughly describe the essence of clinical intuition among this population, phenomenological research methods were utilized. Five alcohol and drug counselors with varying backgrounds with between 5-40 years of experience participated in this study. Participants were interviewed, and …

The Crypt People From The Cathedral Basilica Of Saints Stanislaus And Vladislaus, Vilnius, Lithuania: Reconstruction Of Life Histories Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Kaylee Schotten

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotope analyses of multiple tissue types have been used to reconstruct life histories of individuals from past populations. This thesis presents the life history reconstructions of a unique population recovered from a 16th to 18th century cathedral crypt located in Vilnius, Lithuania. The sample consists of 23 individuals (21 males, one possible female, and one juvenile). Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope analyses were performed on bone and dentin collagen, and on bone and enamel hydroxyapatite, resulting in eight isotope values per individual, providing both childhood and adult dietary and migration information. For bone collagen the average δ13C isotope …

The Impact Of The Quota-Based System On Social Stratification Among The Students At The Indian Institute Of Technology, Madras, India, Thyagarajan Vaidyanathan Ammachathram

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study attempted to identify the impact of the recent expansion in the quota system among Quota-Based Students (QBS) and General Category Students (GCS) at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) (IIT(M)). The study emphasized various institutional behaviors that affected the students and their educational endeavors and examined the impact of institutional practices on the students. This study examined some of the socialization practices of QBS and GCS based on Van Maanen and Schein’s (1979) work and revealed that hostels (residence halls) played a significant role especially among QBS educational endeavors at IIT(M). Van Maanen and Schein’s (1979) investiture socialization …

Timp-1 Activates A Unique Cardiac Stem Cell Population, Cd63+Ve/C-Kit+Ve, Thereby Enhancing Cardiac Differentiation, And Protects The Heart From Adverse Cardiac Remodeling Following Myocardial Infarction, Latifa Abdelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We previously demonstrated that embryonic stem (ES) cells over-expressing tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) have increased potential to engraft and differentiate into cardiac myocytes following transplantation into the infarcted heart. However, the ability of TIMP-1 to activate endogenous stem cells and enhance their differentiation into cardiac regenerative cell types is still unknown. We postulate that TIMP-1 may additionally activate a stem cell population that enhances cardiac cell type differentiation in the infarcted myocardium. To prove this hypothesis, we isolated c-kit+ve cells from four weeks old C57BL/6 mice and cultured them in vitro in presence of ES conditioned media (ESCM), ES-TIMP-1-CM …

Report From The Restorative Justice Process At The Dalhousie University Faculty Of Dentistry, Jennifer Llewellyn, Jacob Mcissac, Melissa Mackay

Reports & Public Policy Documents

In December 2014, female students in Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Dentistry filed complaints under the University’s Sexual Harassment Policy after they became aware some of their male colleagues had posted offensive material about them in a private Facebook group. The select materials revealed from the Facebook group reflected misogynistic, sexist and homophobic attitudes. At the complainants’ request, the University began a restorative justice process to investigate the matter, address the harms it caused and examine the climate and culture within the Faculty that may have influenced the offensive nature of the Facebook group’s content. Twenty-nine students from the class of …

Critical Velocity Is Associated With Combat Specific Performance Measures In A Special Forces Unit, Mattan Hoffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over recent years, military research has focused on ways of being able to predict operational success and readiness through the development of simulated operational tasks measuring the physical limits of the soldier. Therefore, to properly prepare the tactical athlete for the demands and rigor of combat, accurate assessment of baseline physical abilities and limitations are necessary. Currently, western armies use a basic physical fitness test, which has been heavily argued to have no bearing on operational readiness, thus they are in the process of transitioning to a more specific combat readiness test. However, specific assessments to predict operational success/readiness are …

Patent-Eligible Processes: An Audience Perspective, Timothy R. Holbrook, Mark D. Janis

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Many of the problems with modern patent-eligibility analysis can be traced back to a fundamental philosophical divide between judges who treat eligibility as the primary tool for effectuating patent policy and those who take patent-eligibility as nothing more than a coarse filter to be invoked in rare cases. After several years in which the coarse filter approach seemed to have the upper hand, the eligibility-as-king approach now is firmly in ascendancy. This Article resists that trend, exploring more centrist approaches to patent-eligibility, particularly in the context of process inventions. This Article first examines the practice of undertaking an eligibility analysis …

Kickbacks And Contradictions: The Anti-Kickback Statute And Electronic Health Records, Daniel E. Rheiner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The Obama Administration has made the universal adoption of electronic health records a major policy priority, passing the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which creates incentives for physicians and hospitals to computerize their medical records. This effort has been largely successful, as evidenced by the significant increase in medical providers who have adopted electronic health records. However, for the President to achieve his goal of computerizing all medical records in the United States, he will need to ensure that other federal laws do not conflict with the incentive structure created by the HITECH Act. The …

Occupational Burnout And The Causes, Predisposing Factors, Consequences, And Prevention Strategies, Kelsey D. Howard

A with Honors Projects

Occupational burnout is a common dilemma for employees working in long term careers. It is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and lowered efficiency, and it progresses through three stages. Burnout is caused by the increase of demands and the loss of resources. Sleep impairment is also significantly associated with burnout, and also has been shown to hinder the recovery. Lack of balance between work and personal life, as well as perception of stressful events can lead to developing feelings of burnout. External regulation has been associated with a person being more susceptible to develop burnout. Other personal characteristics, such as inability …

Ode To Amiel: A Micro-Budget Experimental Essay Film, Phyllis Redman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ode to Amiel is a feature-length experimental essay film by Phyllis Redman, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film in the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema track from the University of Central Florida. The film explores one woman's reaction to trauma and depersonalization disorder through the journal entries of 19th Century Swiss philosopher, Henri Frederic Amiel. Passages from Amiel's Journal Intime provide the narrative and voice over for the lead character, a grieving mother who finds herself locked behind an inescapable, invisible and immaterial barrier that separates her from the outside world. Following the …

Mia-Mi: Exploring The Affect Of Digital Cinema Through Micro-Budget Production Techniques, Yesenia Lima

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

MIA-mi is a feature-length, micro-budget, and digital motion picture, produced, written, and directed by Yesenia Lima in pursuit of the Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The film is a satirical and naturalistic look at the standing global image of a city, Miami, FL, and its inhabitants. The guiding question behind the production is whether a portrayal of a city, outside of its stereotypical portrait in mass media, could spark and affect a dialogue on the global image of the city and its inhabitant's ability to adjust that image rather than conform …

Chemical And Behavioral Ecology Of The Coastal Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon Tenebrosus), David Reavill

All Master's Theses

Intraspecific interactions are an important factor in shaping the population structure of terrestrial salamanders. Both physical interactions and scent-marking are vital components to the establishment of territories and influence dispersion of individuals. However, little is known about the terrestrial interactions of many salamander species, particularly that of the Coastal Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus). In this study, I observed the first evidence for the use chemical cues by terrestrial D. tenerosus in regards to shelter selection. I also observed the first accounts of agonistic and display behavior of terrestrial D. tenebrosus. These results suggest that terrestrial D. tenebrosus …

The Effect Of Mulch And Watering On Tomato Yields And Potential For Adoption During The Dry Season In Nanjara Village, Tanzania, Emily A. Okal

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

The Drunken Path: Discerning Women's Voices And Participation In The Informal Economy Of Illegal Manufacturing Of Prohibition Alcohol In The Historical And Archaeological Record, Kelli M. Casias

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis puts the Prohibition years in Anaconda and Butte, Montana, into historical, and sociocultural context to discover an engendered narrative of liquor law violators between the years 1923 and 1926 and to investigate the scope of the local informal, illegal, illicit economic systems dictating the distribution of illegal liquor during that era. The transference of the means and modes of production, as envisioned by Karl Marx, and collective social resistance serve as the theoretical frameworks for analysis and examination of three case studies. The first, Poacher Gulch is a remote mining site in western Montana, was the subject of …

Maximal Femoral Artery Blood Flow During Cycle Ergometry, Tucker W. Squires

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

MAXIMAL FEMORAL ARTERY BLOOD FLOW DURING CYCLE ERGOMETRY

Chairperson: Matthew Bundle Ph.D.

The delivery of oxygen to working muscle in order to support aerobic respiration has long been recognized as one of the critical elements conferring endurance performance. Oxygen is transported from the environment to the active cells by the cardiovascular system, which is classically understood to deliver progressively greater amounts of gas to support increased levels of aerobic metabolism. However, the vast majority of existing studies have used modes of exercise that activate relatively small volumes of muscle and consequently have relatively small demands for oxygen delivery. We measured …

Selective Solid Phase Extraction Of Uranium Using An Aminophosphonic Acid Functionalized Composite Material, Ranalda Tsosie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Uranium is an element of interest because it is an abundant source of concentrated energy. In 1948 the US offered money for uranium ore mined in the US, which created a mining boom in the southwest that included the Navajo Reservation. During the late 1960s the demand for uranium decreased and many mining operations shutdown and left behind a legacy of contamination. As a result many Navajo communities have numerous water sources that exceed established maximum contamination levels for uranium and other toxic metals. These contaminations are a direct result of abandoned Cold War uranium mines and mill waste sites …